Read-only links

Overview

Read-only links are a shareable, view-only link that you can create for your timeline, list, calendar, and board views in public projects within Asana organizations, but are not available in workspaces. Read-only links dynamically reflect the latest updates on projects and provide a living source of truth for all cross-functional teams to stay aligned.

Read-only links are not available in workspaces.

Accessing the shareable link in timeline view

To access the shareable link, click on the Create link icon from your project’s timeline view.

The content and URL of these read-only links are not searchable or indexed in any search engine.

Next, click on Copy link.

Once a shareable link is created, the timeline will show as Link Active and the link can be shared with anyone (even non-Asana users), previewed, or deactivated.

Comment-only users or project guests cannot create read-only links.

Previewing your shareable link

Preview your link before sending to see what it will look like for recipients.

Click on Preview.

A window will then open showing you a preview of your link.

Recipients who are organization members can join the project to view task details, create new tasks, and collaborate with the team.

Deactivating your shareable link

You can deactivate your shareable link at any time. This makes it inaccessible to anyone with the link.

First, click Deactivate link.

Next, confirm the deactivation.

If the read-only timeline view is re-created, the link is refreshed meaning anyone with the old link will not be able to access it.

Accessing the shareable link in calendar view

To access the shareable link, click on the Create link icon from your calendar view. You'll then be able to copy and share the link.

Accessing the shareable link in board view

Read-only links is also available in board view. To access the shareable link, click on the Create link icon from your board view. You'll then be able to copy and share the link.

Accessing the shareable link in list view

In addition to the timeline, board, and calendar view, you can now also use read-only links for list view.

To access the shareable link, navigate to the project in question and click on ‘list view’. In the right hand corner, click on the Create Link icon in the right hand corner.

This link can be viewed by any collaborators, whether or not they are Asana members

Once you click on Create Link, the URL embedding will appear and it will automatically default to Link active.

Access permissions for read-only links

Access permissions for read-only links is a feature which allows super admins and users to restrict read-only link access to people within their organization.

Admin controls

The benefit of this feature is the option for super admins to implement enhanced data security for their domain. Super admins in Premium, Business or Enterprise organizations may still disable the read-only link feature for their entire domain, meaning users will not be able to create or share read-only links with anyone.

Super admins of Enterprise organizations may set one of two access permission options for read-only links for their entire domain.

Option 1: Restrict access only to email addresses associated with the organization’s domain

Each new and existing read-only Link in the domain will be set to organization only, requiring authentication before access is granted. The authentication method required depends on which method the super admin has set for the domain (Google SSO, any SAML identity provider such as Okta, or none at all).

If no authentication method has been set, anyone attempting to access a read-only Link must log in to Asana or sign up for Asana with their organization email address to gain access. This is the preferred option if restricting access to organization members only is required.

This setting means users will not have the ability to make read-only views public to those outside the organization.

Changing this setting to organization only could disrupt existing read-only links that have already been shared outside the organization. Before making the change, we recommend notifying team leads and providing some lead time to review and adjust workflows as necessary.

Option 2: Allow project members to set read-only link sharing permissions

Based on the settings configured by users for individual projects, read-only links in the domain may be set to public with no authentication required, or organization only with authentication required before accessing a read-only Link.

This is the preferred option when users in the domain have a mix of internal and external use-cases for read-only links, such as regularly needing to share a read-only view of their project with an external partner, a consultant, or prospective client.

With this option set, the permissions for newly created views will be organization only by default, but project members will have the ability to make views public if they choose.

Project-level controls

Users with Premium, Business, and Enterprise subscriptions may now set access permissions for read-only links on a project-by-project basis. These settings are available to users when the super admin has set the domain to allow members to set read-only project view sharing permissions.

The benefit of this feature is the option for project members to implement additional security in cases where read-only views contain sensitive information or are intended for internal use only. The default permission setting for all newly created views is People in your company.

Set the read-only link to be accessible to ‘People in your company’

When this option is selected, the project read-only link will be internal-only, requiring the recipient of a read-only Link to authenticate themselves before being able to access the read-only view. The authentication method required depends on which method the super admin has set for the domain (Google SSO, any SAML identity provider such as Okta, or none at all).

If no authentication method has been set, anyone attempting to access a read-only link must log in to Asana or sign up for Asana with their organization email address to gain access. This is the preferred option if restricting access to organization members only is required.

Set the read-only link to be accessible to ‘Anyone with the link’

When this option is selected, the project read-only link will be public, with no authentication required to access the read-only view. This is the preferred option for read-only links to be shared externally, such as with clients, vendors, or members of the public.

Authentication for recipients of read-only links

Recipients of read-only links with organization only permission settings can access the view by authenticating themselves.

People in your organization who have an Asana account can authenticate themselves by signing into their Asana account.

People in your organization who do not have an Asana account can authenticate themselves in one of two ways:

• First, ensure people in your organization have access to Asana via your domain's identity provider (e.g., Okta, Google SSO). Once this is set, people in your organization can authenticate themselves upon receiving a read-only link. This does not require signing up for an Asana account. Read-only link recipients that authenticate with the identity provider to access the link are not considered full members and, therefore, cannot impact billing unless they go on to complete their sign-up.

• By signing up for an Asana account with an email address in the company domain, if the organization does not have an identity provider enabled.

Link recipients receiving a read-only link with Anyone with the link permission settings can access the read-only view without authentication.

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